A Firm no. 

Queen Camilla’s younger sister, Annabel Elliot, can’t bring herself to curtsy to King Charles’ consort despite royal protocol. 

Elliot, 76, spoke about Camilla, 77, in a new profile on the King and Queen commemorating the couple’s 20th wedding anniversary written by royal biographer Robert Hardman for Tatler. 

According to Hardman, the interior designer “still finds it impossible” to curtsy to her elder sister, even though she has been a member of the royal family for two decades now and Queen for over 2 years. 

Historically, women were expected to curtsy to the King or Queen the first time they saw them on any given day. Customs such as this have relaxed over the years, with even the royal family’s website stating, “There are no obligatory codes of behaviour when meeting The Queen or a member of the Royal Family.”

However, the site also states, “[M]any people wish to observe the traditional forms,” adding, “For men this is a neck bow (from the head only) whilst women do a small curtsy.” 

Members of the royal family and members of the royal household, however, almost always (if not always) curtsy to the sovereign and their consort, making Elliot’s position even more remarkable given that she is one of Queen Camilla’s “companions” (the contemporary equivalent of a “lady-in-waiting”). 

Curtsying aside, Elliot praised her sister when speaking with Hardman. 

“Obviously for [King Charles], it was always going to be,” she told Hardman of Charles becoming monarch. 

As for her sister’s unexpected ascendancy into public life, Elliot said, “I think she’s transitioned beautifully, actually. I mean, I sometimes look at her, and I can’t really believe it.”

The Queen’s younger sister was reportedly her “rock” during a trying 2024. The literacy advocate mourned the death of her beloved dog, saw her husband and daughter-in-law battle cancer and suffered health problems of her own, including a bout of pneumonia. 

Elliot’s love for her sister was on public display in the “BBC documentary Charles III: The Coronation Year,” in which she got emotional watching footage of Camilla leaving for Westminster Abbey to be crowned Queen.

“When I thought back to being 2 years old and watching [Queen Elizabeth II’s] coronation on a tiny black and white television, and there goes this golden coach with my sister in it,” Elliot said. “I can’t explain the feeling, because it’s so surreal. This cannot be happening. It was quite a moment.”

Elliot’s admiration for her sister was echoed by Camilla’s sister-in-law, Princess Anne (aka The Princess Royal). 

“Her understanding of her role and how much difference it makes to the King has been absolutely outstanding,” Princess Anne told Tatler. 

“I’m sure lots of people do say to her what a difference she’s made, but that is really true. I’ve known her a long time off and on, and I think she’s been incredibly generous and understanding.”